


Horizontal Line

by henry_amargosa



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Blow Jobs, Clothed Sex, Desk Sex, Economics, Hand Jobs, M/M, Semi-Public Sex, Studying, University
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-27
Updated: 2016-01-27
Packaged: 2018-05-16 17:38:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5834671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/henry_amargosa/pseuds/henry_amargosa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin has hunkered down in a classroom to study. Until that tosser from his economics seminar bursts through the door.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Horizontal Line

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the [beautiful, somewhat pornographic artwork](http://ls311.deviantart.com/art/College-AU-584195177) of [ls311](http://ls311.tumblr.com/post/137233129633/college-au-by-ls311).

Merlin had been studying in an empty classroom for more than three hours, and his eyes were beginning to glaze over as he read for the third time a paragraph in his macroeconomics textbook. Thursdays were his big study night, when — no matter what — he found a quiet corner of campus to knuckle down, but he could tell his focus was significantly diminished at this point.

He sat back, cracked his knuckles and rubbed his eyes, sighing. He contemplated giving up the ghost and going back to his dorm room when he heard noises coming from the hallway. There weren’t many people hanging around academic buildings at this time of night, and he jumped slightly when the door to the classroom suddenly swung open.

It was Arthur, the tosser from Merlin’s econ class. They hadn’t spoken much, but Merlin knew everything he needed to just from observations. Arthur was undoubtedly gorgeous, but he clearly knew it, and that made him smarmy. He was smart, but also condescending. He came from money, and never worried about things like paying tuition, and obviously didn’t think about anyone else having that trouble either.

He was bloody fit, Merlin thought to himself, guiltily.

“Oh!” Arthur said upon seeing Merlin sitting in the first row of desks.

“Yes,” Merlin said. He valiantly fought against raking his eyes up and down Arthur’s body, and only got away with it because Arthur glanced around the rest of the room for a moment. The blonde man wearing significantly less than Merlin. He was wearing blue athletic shorts and a thin white t-shirt. He was also somewhat sweaty, and his shaggy hair was a bit stuck to his forehead.

“Maxwell, right? From econ?” Arthur said, pointing at Merlin and shooting a lopsided grin.

“It’s Merlin, actually,” he replied, a slight hint of annoyance in his voice.

“What are you doing in here, at this hour?” Arthur asked, entering the room and allowing the door to swing shut behind him.

“Studying,” Merlin said, his eyes flitting down to the textbook on the table in front of him.

“But why not in the library, like a normal person?”

Merlin twitched. He was a normal person. “I usually prefer someplace quieter. With fewer people.” He crossed his arms and looked up at the muscled man in front of him. “What are you doing here, at this hour?” he asked slightly mockingly.

Arthur motioned to his outfit. “Exercising, sort of. I just ran a few miles, and was using this buildings stairwell to run steps since this place is empty at night.”

Merlin cocked his head. “And you came into this room because…”

“Time for some push-ups! Hope you don’t mind, mate.” He winked and swiftly dropped to the ground, pushing himself up and down, up and down. Merlin rolled his eyes.

“I was here first, you know,” he said, leaning over the desk slightly to see Arthur.

“Yeah,” Arthur said, finishing a set and swinging to a sitting position to rest and look at Merlin. “I noticed. What are you studying for? We don’t have a test tomorrow or anything.” As he spoke, he pulled his left leg up against his torso and hugged it — some kind of stretching exercise, Merlin guessed.

“No, no test. It’s just part of my long-term plan to learn a lot, get good grades and graduate with honors,” Merlin said, barely hiding the contempt in his voice. “What, don’t you ever study?”

“Not really,” Arthur said, switching to his right leg. “Not econ, anyway. I just get it.”

Merlin made a “pfft” sound and, vowing to ignore Arthur, turned his eyes back to the text.

“Don’t believe me?” Arthur asked, standing up. “Ask me anything. I’m already through Chapter 7.”

Merlin scowled. “Seriously?” he asked. “Two whole chapters ahead? That’s so… ambitious of you.”

Arthur smirked to match Merlin’s scowl.

“Not ambitious. Just interested. I like economics.”

“Of course you do,” Merlin said. “Well I’m not engaging in some kind of trivia contest with you.”

“Oh come on,” Arthur said, slipping into the desk to Merlin’s right. “We could make it interesting.”

“You have nothing I want,” said Merlin, staring intently at the book in front of him.

“Well, I don’t know about that,” said Arthur, making a show of adjusting himself through his shorts. Merlin’s jaw dropped.

“You have got to be kidding,” he said, meeting Arthur’s intense stare. “No way. Oh my god.”

“Come on Merlin, I know you want to. I’ve seen you staring at me in class when you think I’m not paying attention,” Merlin’s ears turned bright pink and he shut his mouth, not bothering to deny it. “Here’s the deal,” Arthur continued. “Open to any page in Chapter 7 and ask me something. Any page, dealer’s choice. If I can answer, you have to give me a hand. If you know what I mean.”

Merlin’s mind kept swirling back and forth between utter shock at the situation, his anger that Arthur would think he would be OK with this, and his surprise that he is, in fact, OK with this.

“And if you can’t answer?” Merlin replied daringly. “I want something more than a quickie handjob.”

Arthur frowned as he thought deeply for a moment. “OK,” he said. “If I don’t know the answer, I’ll blow you. Right here, right now.”

“Jesus fuck,” Merlin swore. “My horoscope didn’t mention my life would become a freaking porno today.”

Arthur grinned. “So does that mean you’re in?”

Merlin bit his lip, rolled his eyes, and silently bobbled his head.

“Excellent!” Arthur clapped his hands and rubbed them together, winking at Merlin.

Merlin just turned to his textbook. “Cover your eyes,” he said, and Arthur did. Merlin flipped to a random page in Chapter 7.

“OK,” he said. “If investment is exogenous to the income determination model, you can show that on a graph as what?”

Arthur stayed still for a moment, and after a few seconds he began to think he might have stumped the prat. He was about to repeat the question when Arthur’s eyes shot open.

“A horizontal line!” he shouted, turning to face Merlin. “Right? I’m right, aren’t I?”

Merlin was flabbergasted. Arthur was, in fact, correct. Merlin didn’t even really understand what the question meant. He gawped for a moment, stuttering, “Well…”

Arthur snatched the book away from him, running his fingers along the text for a second. “There!” he said. “Right there, horizontal line, obviously, since income carries along the bottom axis. Yes!”

Merlin slumped down a bit in his chair. He knew what he had to do now.

“Well,” Arthur said, “now that we’ve taken care of the horizontal line, there’s a vertical one that needs your attention.”

“You are unbelievable,” Merlin said.

“I know,” Arthur said cheekily. “What’s the matter? You’re not going to back out, are you?”

“Oh, I’m a man of my word,” Merlin said. His right hand shot over the desk’s barrier to cup Arthur’s manhood through the blue shorts. The blonde was already half-hard. Merlin was impressed. Arthur’s workout must have heightened his horniness. Arthur closed his eyes, his head lolling to the side, as Merlin felt his cock harden quickly. Things were stirring in Merlin’s own jeans, but he tried not to think about that as he felt up Arthur.

After several minutes of groping, Arthur snorted. “Come on Merlin, enough heavy petting!”

Merlin huffed, and thought about how to proceed. He decided to reach Arthur through the bottom of his shorts because they rode so high and wouldn’t constrict his hand like going through the waistband. He slid his hand up Arthur’s shorts, grasping at the base of his cock and feeling upward. Arthur’s cock was solid, maybe seven inches, slightly shorter than Merlin’s own (yes, he measured, save your judgment), but Arthur was thicker, a nice, solid weight in Merlin’s hand. The skin was smooth, almost velvety. His head was bulbous, and Arthur’s breath hitched when Merlin swiped over the top, spreading around the bit of precum that had beaded there. Finally, Merlin dropped his hand down to cup Arthur’s balls. They were warm, smooth, well-rounded, and rolled nicely in his hand.

This is clearly the best cock money can buy, Merlin thought to himself.

“Why thank you,” Arthur said, his head turned toward Merlin. Had Merlin said that bit out loud? Damn it.

“All right, calm down,” he said. “It’s not that great. Don’t need to stroke your ego any more.”

“True. There’s something else you should be stroking instead,” Arthur said.

He was clearly hoping to get a rise out of Merlin, but the raven-haired man simply took his words as a challenge. He grasped at the base of Arthur’s cock and began working it like a pro. He called upon every porno he had seen, every trick he had learned from his former partners. Arthur’s head lolled back, any sign of a smirk, wiped away as his breathing quickened. Merlin pumped his arm up and down, but the angle was awkward. He withdrew his right hand from Arthur’s shorts, eliciting a low growl from Arthur, and shifted in his seat so he could use his left hand on Arthur’s manhood. After only a few strokes he withdrew his hand again, spitting in his palm and diving back in with gusto. His hand flew up and down Arthur’s thick cock, sliding slick along his shaft. Arthur’s eyes were screwed shut as he panted heavily. Merlin noticed his forehead glistening again — this time the result of a different kind of exercise, he thought to himself amusedly.

“Oh my god, Merlin,” Arthur moaned. “Fuck, fuck, fuck… it’s like you have magic fingers or something. How are you so good at this?”

“It’s not magic, Arthur. You just have to know a few… good… tricks!” He timed the statement with a deft flick of his wrist upward, squeezing a new bead of precum from Arthur’s cockhead as he gasped anew. He smeared it up and down Arthur’s shaft, switching to cradle his balls for a while. They radiated warmth, and Merlin definitely did not think about what it would be like to suck them into his mouth, one at a time, and roll them along his tongue. He also certainly did not think about what it would be like to go even lower, to massage Arthur’s perineum, to reach his hole and slip a finger or two inside the buff man.

Arthur looked an absolute wreck. He practically writhed under Merlin’s ministrations — and that was only using one hand.

Merlin stared at Arthur’s face. The blonde man’s hair was stuck to his forehead, and a healthy red flush lit up his face. His eyes were closed tightly, and he had clearly given up on breathing through his nose, taking ragged gasps through his mouth instead. Oh, his mouth. Merlin fixated on Arthur’s pouty lips, fluttering open and closed as he breathed in and out with each of Merlin’s strokes. Merlin wanted very much to kiss those lips.

Well, then do it, he thought. What the hell, you’re already jacking him off.

Merlin moved his idle right hand behind Arthur’s neck. Arthur opened his eyes, blown wide and dark with lust, and he leaned forward to press his lips against Merlin’s. Their mouths opened to admit one another’s tongues, and Arthur’s left hand moved just over Merlin’s crotch to steady himself as they made out. They kissed passionately for several minutes as Merlin continued to massage Arthur’s cock under his shorts. But soon their own ragged breathing made it impossible to continue kissing. Instead, the pair pulled back slightly, essentially breathing into each other’s mouths. It was filthy. Merlin loved it.

Soon, Arthur began contracting slightly. Merlin could see his body begin to stiffen. Arthur opened his eyes and gazed at Merlin.

“I’m going to… I’m about to…”

“Good,” Merlin said, a wicked grin flashing across his face. He began stripping Arthur’s cock faster and faster, paying ample attention to his throbbing cockhead, as Arthur gripped him tightly and yelped.

“Faster, harder, tighter… Oh my guh… Oh yeah, oh my god, oh Merlin!” He outright shouted Merlin’s name as the dark-haired man felt Arthur’s cock surge and pulse in his hand. The tiniest sliver of Merlin’s mind worried about someone else in the building hearing them, but it was quickly obliterated by the ever-expanding hotness of Arthur coming apart in front of him, because of him.

Merlin’s hand was coated in warm stickiness inside Arthur's shorts. He continued gripping Arthur’s cock, which had softened only slightly between his fingers, as they made out. After another minute, Merlin suddenly realized where he was, who he was with and what he was doing. Realization came flooding back in. He had lost the contest and performed his penance. Arthur wouldn’t want anything more from him. Merlin frowned at the thought, and broke the kiss. Arthur panted and sat in his seat, limp and boneless. Merlin turned awkwardly in his seat, facing forward. He reached into his bag and pulled out a wet napkin he kept for food-related emergencies, cleaning off his sticky hand.

“I am so glad I knew that… uh, that line thing,” Arthur gasped beside him.

“Yeah, good on you,” Merlin said, his voice level as he finished wiping his hands. He stared down at the paper on his desk for a moment, trying to figure out how to extract himself from the situation with what little dignity he had left after jacking off one of the hottest guys at university over an economics trivia question.

He shuffled in his seat, but was startled when Arthur slithered out of his own, kneeling on the floor in front of Merlin. The blonde looked up at the dark-haired man, want in his eyes. He didn’t speak, but reached forward and grabbed at Merlin’s zipper.

“Arthur, you don’t —”

“I want to,” Arthur said, his voice gravely and deep.

Merlin hesitated for a moment, then slid his hands down to undo his zipper and button. Arthur pushed the foldable desk out of the way, papers and pens flying onto the floor, but Merlin couldn’t really be arsed about it now. He watched as Arthur attacked his underwear, unbuttoning Merlin’s boxers and releasing his throbbing erection. The freedom and cool air on his cock were almost too much — until Arthur’s hands grabbed the shaft and squeezed lightly. Merlin’s head lolled back uncontrollably. He was so glad Arthur had decided to return the favor, but he yelped when he felt a warm heat envelop his cockhead.

“Please,” Arthur asked — begged, really. Merlin just nodded and uttered “Jesus Christ” before scrunching up his eyes and placing one hand on the top of Arthur’s hair, stroking it almost lovingly. Arthur’s mouth sank lower and lower on Merlin’s cock until — to his surprise — he felt the blonde man’s nose nestled in his pubic hair at the base of his cock. Dear god, Arthur had swallowed him to the hilt. Merlin took a moment to be impressed before he was totally washed away as Arthur sucked hard, bobbing up and down and even paying attention to Merlin’s balls, which hung low and heavy but quickly began tightening.

“Arthur, I’m not gonna last very long,” Merlin said, tugging lightly on Arthur’s hair to make sure he heard. Arthur just murmured, the vibrations shooting straight up Merlin’s spine to the pleasure center of his brain, and he redoubled his perfect oral technique.

Merlin quickly toppled over the edge, having been aroused for some time as he jacked off Arthur. He let loose a deep groan as he sprayed come deep down Arthur’s throat. He took every last drop, like a champ. Arthur withdrew for a moment, wiping some saliva from the corners of his mouth, before he leaned back in to lick Merlin’s cock completely clean. Merlin hissed a bit at the sensation on his sensitive penis, but Arthur finished with a small peck to his cock that was actually sort of endearing if you could forget how absolutely torrid it was.

Arthur leaned back on his knees, breathing heavily with his hands resting on his hips.

“Oh man,” Merlin said, one arm thrown dramatically across his eyes. “I’m really, really glad you knew the answer.”

Arthur barked out a laugh, and scooted into the chair next to Merlin again.

“I was thinking, maybe another contest,” he said. Merlin dropped his arm and turned his head to gaze at Arthur. He tried to wipe the fucked-out look off his face, but wasn’t particularly successful.

“What this time?”

“Well,” Arthur said quietly. “You ask me another econ question. If I get it right, you have to go on a… date. With me.”

“I see,” Merlin said. “OK, I already have a question.”

Arthur looked slightly surprised, but didn’t otherwise react.

“What does GDP strand for?” Merlin asked, stone-faced.

Arthur cocked his head and scrunched up his eyes, running through the question again to make sure it wasn’t a trick. Convinced it wasn’t, he looked at Merlin.

“Gross Domestic Product. That’s easy, Merlin!”

“Damn,” Merlin said, a playful grin crawling up his lips. “I guess I’ll have to go on a date with you.”


End file.
